Workstation buyers' guide
Published Sun 20 Apr 2008
Autodesk Inventor is an extremely powerful software application, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a workstation to get the best out of it.
Our dedicated buyers’ guide shows exactly what you need to look out for when buying a workstation for Inventor and then over then page we recommend three workstations to suit all levels of use, from the entry-level right up to the power user.
1Processor
All modern processors are ‘multi-core’, which means you get two (Dual Core) or four (Quad Core) processors on a single piece of silicon. However, Inventor runs most of its operations on a single core so having a Dual Core chip with a high GHz is generally most important. Naturally, there is a premium attached to the fastest chips so for better price/performance look at a mid-range chip with a slightly lower GHz.
Quad core processors are best suited for power users who perform analysis (FEA) or design visualization tasks. Inventor Studio can take advantage of four or even eight cores which will dramatically reduce rendering times.
Tip: Intel’s Core 2 Duo is an excellent choice for Inventor, but keep an eye on Quad Core prices as these are falling all the time and will give you more room to grow in the future as software applications (and your needs) change.
23D Graphics Card
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a professional PCI Express graphics card to be able to manipulate your models smoothly inside Inventor. This is because the CPU becomes the bottleneck before you can make use of the full power of the graphics card. A 256MB professional card from ATI (FireGL) or Nvidia (Quadro) should offer plenty of power.
Inventor supports two graphics standards: OpenGL and (more recently) DirectX. DirectX is the default standard inside Inventor and provides better stability. Performance is also increasing with every new release of Inventor. However, some users still prefer OpenGL because it offers better visual accuracy.
Tip: To boost 3D performance you’re better off investing in a CPU with a higher clock speed than a high-end graphics card.
3Hard drives
Modern Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives boast huge capacities, which should be plenty for even the biggest collection of Inventor datasets. With this in mind the main reason for adding additional hard drives is to boost performance or build in protection from disk failure. This is done through ‘RAID’. The most common implementations are RAID 0 (which improves performance by ‘striping’ data across two drives, but if one drive fails you lose all your data) and RAID 1 (which ‘mirrors’ the data across two disks so even if one drive fails your data is safe).
Tip: As a rule of thumb a hard drive with a larger platter speed and cache offers the best performance.
4Memory (RAM)
Memory is one of the most vital components in any workstation and it’s cheap so you don’t need to scrimp and save like you had to a few years ago. Furthermore, if you don’t have enough memory your workstation will have to swap out data to the hard drive, which will slow things down dramatically.
For Inventor 2GB is an absolute minimum, but if you work with large datasets or run multiple applications at the same time (e.g. Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer), then you’ll need more. However, a 64-bit Operating System is required to be able to address more than 3GB.
Tip: To find out how much memory you are using simply load up your commonly used applications and biggest Inventor assembly and press CTRL, ALT, DELETE, then click Task Manager, Performance.
5Operating System
Windows Vista, Microsoft’s latest Operating System, is still relatively young and there can be compatibility issues with certain software and peripherals.
Both Windows XP and Windows Vista are available in 32-bit or 64-bit versions. However to make the most out of 64-bit Operating Systems you’ll also need a 64-bit application and be working with datasets above 2GB in size. N.B. Inventor 2009 is the first version of Inventor to come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Tip: For maximum performance and compatibility take advantage of the Windows XP downgrade option offered by many workstation vendors and then move to Vista whenever you are ready.
Specifications: Intel Core2 Duo E8400 (3.00GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1,333 MHz FSB), 2GB DDR2 667 ECC memory, Nvidia Quadro FX370 (256MB) graphics, 250GB SATA NCQ 7,200 RPM hard drive, Intel X38 Express chipset, 16x DVD+/-RW, Windows XP Professional 32-bit (Vista 32-bit downgrade).
HP xw4600
Ideal for part and assembly modelling but, even with its entry-level positioning, offers excellent performance.
HP’s xw4600 is testament to the fact that you don’t need to spend a fortune to have an extremely capable platform for Inventor. There are currently some extremely good deals to be had on Intel Core2 Duo processors and in the xw4600 you can get an 3.0GHz E8400 for the same price as a 2.66GHz E6750. This gives a significant boost to Inventor in core calculations, but will also increase 3D performance.
The Quadro FX 370 is Nvidia’s new entry-level graphics card and while the company’s previous entry-level cards have been off the pace, the FX370 offers unrivalled price/performance.
2GB of memory is really a bare minimum for Inventor, but it still provides enough capacity to work with some fairly sizeable assemblies, though it’s important not to run too many applications at the same time. If you run into memory problems, however, a 2GB upgrade will only set you back around £30-£40.
The xw4600 is one of the quietest workstations in production and boasts some of the industry’s best ‘green’ credentials. It has a compact chassis, simple lines and is an excellent choice for Inventor users with average requirements.
Price: £618 (3 year onsite warranty)
Specifications: Intel Core2 Duo E8500 (3.16GHz, 6MB L2 cache, 1,333 MHz FSB), 4GB DDR2 800 memory, Nvidia Quadro FX1700 (512MB) graphics, 160GB SATA 7,200 RPM hard drive, Intel P35 Chipset, 20x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW drive, Windows XP Professional (32-bit).
CAD 2 Imagine X64
Unrivalled modelling performance with its high-end Dual Core CPU, plus generous capacity for large assemblies.
The 3.16GHz Core 2 Duo E8500 is currently the fastest Dual Core chip from Intel, but even with its premium billing CAD 2 has managed to put a high-powered modelling system together for under £1,000.
With 4GB of memory the system is more than maxed out for standard 32-bit Windows, but CAD 2 can pre-configure XP with the /3GB switch, which means certain applications, including Inventor, can address 3GB compared to the standard 2GB. This will give you enough capacity for all but the biggest of models and 4GB also means you can have other applications comfortably running in the background without slowing things down.
The Quadro FX 1700 is Nvidia’s mid-range graphics card and while most Inventor users won’t see a noticeable improvement over the FX 370 or FX 570, you are likely to see superior 3D performance when running other 3D applications on the same machine.
With CAD2’s machines you get a level of build quality you don’t get from the major OEMs as each component is lovingly put together with all wires clipped away neatly. An acoustic upgrade kit means the machine is also quiet in operation.
Price: £995 (3 year onsite warranty)
Specifications:Intel Xeon X5460 (3.16GHz, 2 x 6MB L2 cache, 1,333MHz FSB), 8GB DDR2 667 Quad Channel memory, ATI FireGL V7600 (512MB) graphics, 160GB NCQ SATA 10,000 RPM hard drive, Intel P35 Chipset, 16X DVD+/-RW, Windows XP Professional x64 (Vista Business 64-bit downgrade).
Dell Precision T5400
The ultimate machine for Digital Prototyping, solving huge analysis problems and high-definition renders.
If you’re only planning to run Inventor on its own then Dell’s Precision T5400 is overkill, but if you’re looking to explore the realms of Digital Prototyping with analysis or rendering, then this machine is hard to beat. The system is built around Intel’s top-end Xeon X5460, which runs at 3.16GHz, the same as the Core 2 Duo E8500 in CAD 2’s machine. However, with the Xeon X5460 you get four cores to play with, which means plenty of power for multithreaded FEA (Finite Element Analysis) or rendering applications, or the ability to analyse several design alternatives concurrently.
8GB of RAM, coupled with Windows XP x64 Edition, means that Inventor 2009 users can not only work with colossal datasets, but analyse these assemblies to assess performance.
ATI’s FireGL V7600 graphics card should give users a slight boost in 3D performance over Nvidia’s Quadro cards when running in DirectX mode. However, like Nvidia’s Quadro cards, there is little benefit for Inventor users when compared to ATI’s entry-level cards. The true value of the high-performance FireGL V7600 will be seen when running complementary 3D analysis or rendering applications.
Price: £1,995 (3 year NBD onsite warranty) (Quote Number 80985071.2)
